Combined step and extension ladder.



I E. F. WEL'DEN. COMBINED STEP AND EXTENSION LADDER.

' APPLICATION FILED NOV. 1', 1910 1,010,832.

Patented W, 1911.

EDSON F. WELDEN, OF DEMSTER', NEW YORK.

COMBINED STEP AND EXTENSION LADDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 5, 1911.

Application filed November 1, 1916. Serial No. 590,198.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, EnsoN F. \VnLnnN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Demster, in the county of'Oswego and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Combined Step andExtension Ladders, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in combined step ladders andextension ladders, and has for one of its objects to improve theconstruction and increase the efliciency and utility of devices of. thischaracter.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of this characterwhich may be disposed in extension ladder form without increasing thewidth of the parts.

WVith these and other objects in View the invention consists in certainnovel features of construction as hereinafter shown and described andthen specifically pointedout in the claim; and, in the drawingsillustrative of the preferred embodiment. of the invention, Figure 1 isa perspective view of the improved device arranged as a step ladder;Fig. 2 is a perspective View of the improved device arranged as anextension ladder; Fig.

3 is a section on the line 3-3of Fig. 2, illustrading the constructionof the locking means between the two ladder sections.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the samereference characters.

The improved device is arranged in two sections or portions, a lower orstep ladder portion and an upper or extension ladder port-ion hingedlyunited, so that the two lad-- der sections whenin one position form astep ladder and when in another position form an extensionladder andwithout disconnecting any of the parts The step ladder sect-ioncomprises side members 10-11 and steps 12 of the usual arrangement withthe'side members spaced apartat a greater distance, at the lower endsthan at their upper ends to increase the stability of the step ladderportion. The

step ladder portion may be of any required length and contain anyrequired number of steps, and will preferably be constructed of wood aslight as possible consistent with the strains to which it will besubjected when in use. v

The extension ladder section comprises spaced side members 13-14 androunds between the xnember 10-11 at their upper ends. The extensionladder section may be of any required length and contain any re- Iquired number of the rounds, and may be much longer than the step laddersection, as

shown.

Connected to the side members of'the lad- "der sections are hingemembers 16-17 the hinges being so arranged that the two ladder sectionsare supported either in angular relations when arranged as a stepladder, as shown in Fig. 1, or in parallel relations when arranged as anextension'ladder, as shown in Fig. 2. Hinge members 16-17 are connectedto' the side members 10-11 at their upper ends and extend beyond thesame and likewise toward the side members 13-14, while the opposinghinge members 18-19 are connected to the side members 13-14 and extendat right angles thereto. By this arrangement the side members 13-14remain at all times opposite the side members 10-11, and when theextension ladder section is located in parallel relations to the stepladder section, as sho'wn in Fig. 2, to form an extension ladder, theedges of the side members 13-14 will bear against the edges of the sidemembers 10-11. By this means the width of the ladder does not at anytime exceed the total width of the step ladder section at its upper end.This is an important feature of applicants device, and

adds materially to its efliciency and utility, as the ladder ismaterially reduced in width without decreasing its strength orefliciency. The upper round 15 of the extension ladder section isprovided with a hooked bar 20 which bears over one of the steps 12, andthus forms an eflicient locking means between the two sections when thedevice is arranged as an extension ladder.

Pivoted at 22 to the side members 10-11 are notched bars 23 which areadapted to engage by the notches over pins 24 upon the side-members13-14 of the extension ladder section, to hold the extension laddersection at an angle .to the step ladder section when the device isarranged as a step ladder. The

extension ladder section thus performs the' function of supporting legsfor the step ladder, as shown in Fig.1. The bars 23 are provided with anadditional notch 25 to engage over pins 26 in the .side members 10-l1when the device is arranged as anladder form by simply arranging thestep ladder section into vertical position with one hand and adjustingthe extension ladder section into \ertical position and locking the sameto the extension ladder section with the other. The device is thus veryconvenient to handle and operate.

When the ladder is folded, the hooked bar 20 hangs freely from the upperrung of the extension section, as is disclosed to advantage in Fig. 1,and is adapted to support a pail, basket, or other receptacle, or anyarticle desired. This feature of the hooked bar 20 produces a ladderwhich is I convenient in picking fruit, washing windows, and variousother like uses.

Having thus described my invention, what is claimed as new is: A deviceas specified comprising a step ladder section, hinge members carried atthe .a round in itsupper end, hinge members carried against the sides ofthe extension section at a point spaced from the upper end thereof andengaging with the hinge members of the first section, the hinge membersof the extension section projecting inward from the same to space thesection from the first section, notched bars hinged against the sides ofthe ladder section, pins extending from the sides of the extensionsection for engagement in the notches of the bars, and a In testimonywhereof, I. ailix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDSON FQVVELDEN.

lVitnesses:

' lViL-LIAM H. lVooosmn,

R. L. SIMoNs.

